Inglourious Basterds

(2009)

Directed by

Quentin Tarantino

Review by Todd Plucknett

Posted - 8/31/09

Oscar-winner Quentin Tarantino’s long-awaited World War II epic Inglourious Basterds has been stirring around in the writer-director’s mind since well before Kill Bill. It has been my most anticipated film for several years now, and now that it finally gets its theatrical release, all I can say is that it was well worth the wait. It is one of the craziest, funniest, most entertaining, and most provocative films to come out in the past few years. Not only does it do the astonishing Tarantino filmography justice, but it actually improves on it. While Kill Bill is one of my all time favorite films and something that Tarantino may never top, as stated in the final line this film, this may well be his masterpiece.

Like all of Tarantino’s ventures, this film has several different storylines going on. If it revolves around anyone, it is Soshanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent), a young Jewish girl who runs her own family movie theater four years after she escaped the wrath of a “Jew Hunter” named Col. Hans Landa (the incredible Christoph Waltz), who brutally murdered her family at a safe house in France. She eventually plots revenge against the Nazi regime at her theater. Every major Nazi soldier would be in attendance of a patriotic war film. This catches the attention of the Basterds, a band of soldiers that do one thing and one thing only…killing Nazis. Led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), the Basterds storm through the Third Reich killing and scalping every Nazi they can get their hands on. This sets the backdrop of this crazy World War II epic film that just oozes Tarantino. The trailer indicated that it would be an all-out gorefest with the Basterds just killing Nazis, but that would not be Tarantino. All of the trailer scenes are in the first half hour of the film, which makes everything after that a completely satisfying surprise. There are so many perfect characters, so many interlocking storylines, that the entire film just flies by with its 153 minute running length.

The performances are really good in this ensemble drama. Brad Pitt is hilarious in his role with his horrible attempts at accents. You can totally tell that he just had an absolute blast filming it. Melanie Laurent is wonderful in her role. Her character was crucial to the film, and she shined, giving one of the best female performances of the year so far. Eli Roth was awesome as the “Bear Jew,” a bulked-up Basterd who beats Nazis heads in with a baseball bat. Other standouts include BJ Novak, the best work Diane Kruger has ever done, the awesome cameo by Mike Myers, and Hunger star Michael Fassenbender. The only Tarantino veteran in the film (other than a small voice cameo by Samuel L. Jackson, and I am convinced that I heard Harvey Keitel in there too) was Julie Dreyfus, who was great in her one scene role.

But this movie belongs to Christoph Waltz, who will at least be nominated for an Oscar. He is the craziest “villain” so far this year. He is menacing in four different languages. He is not just a brutal Nazi soldier either. He seems to be the only one with his head on straight. He plots his killings, he is very perceptive, and he knows how to push the other characters’ buttons. It is the most chilling screen presence I have witnessed this year. I have to think that he can make it three years in a row where Best Supporting Actor will go to the most ruthless, irresistible villain of the year.

This movie is just vintage Tarantino. The revenge plot is wonderfully over-the-top and just simply splendid. The multiple storylines is his trademark. There is no other director who I can think of that would just blatantly ignore history and do his own thing. Unlike Valkyrie, which was held back by its attempts to be respectable and true, while having an outrageous premise, Tarantino’s film is a suspense-filled wonder because you have no idea what he is going to do next. He is one director that just refuses to compromise.

Throughout the film, there are several little connections to his other films. The Basterds use a Beatrix line at one point. There is a standoff mirroring Jules, Vincent, and Pumpkin. The characters names are in homage to other films, particularly the Bear Jew Donnie Donowitz, who shares the same name as a film producer character in his screenplay True Romance. The film also pays homage to classic spaghetti westerns and war films. There is no director who is more of a fan of film than QT. There are several times throughout the film that characters are just sitting around a table casually talking about movies. No one writes dialogue like him. Most of the movie is written in this vein, a lot like Death Proof. The first scene in the film was simply marvelous, which is one of the best scenes Tarantino has ever created. But the film lives for those insane shootouts and occasional scalping scenes. You just know something is going to happen, and when it does, there is no more satisfying feeling. And the final thirty minutes are just epic. I loved every moment of it. It is the quickest 150 minutes probably since Pulp Fiction.

Now where does Tarantino go from here? He has rumored a sequel to this film, which I am all for. There is also the eventual remake of the classic Russ Meyer cult flick Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!. I trust his judgment. There is no bigger Tarantino fan on the planet than me. Every one of his films is among my favorite of their respective years, even his portion in the otherwise incompetent Four Rooms and his writing ventures that he did not direct like From Dusk Till Dawn and the semi-masterpiece True Romance. The man can do no wrong.

And I have to say that when I saw this film at the midnight showing, it was with the rowdiest audience I have ever been with. There was first applause during the Avatar trailer, then with the Inception teaser. You could tell the audience was just itching and pumped to finally see this film. When it started, there were roars and cheers, and in the end, a standing ovation. Nothing makes a film experience better than watching it with an audience that knows what good film is, and an audience that is enjoying it just as much as you. Watching this was one of my favorite moviegoing experiences in my life, one that is only rivaled by the only other Tarantino film I saw in theaters, Grindhouse. Tarantino is simply the master. I really never expected Inglourious Basterds to be that good, that entertaining, and that unforgettable. I cannot wait to see where he goes from here. Whatever it is, I will be first in line.

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